Improvising role
When students are asked to take on a role, they are being asked to act “as if” they are a particular character rather than “acting out” a part in a particular text. They are being asked to think, make decisions, draw conclusions, make connections, and improvise their own ideas as their role.
When students act out a storyline, they are usually limited to recreating ideas in the story. A lack of thoughtful connection to the role they are acting can lead to forced use of drama techniques, in contrast to the natural response that occurs when they are improvising and thinking as if they are the role.
Talking with students about their use of gestures, movement, facial expression, and voice, within the context of the drama and in association with the role they are playing, is more helpful and effective than teaching or focusing on these techniques in isolation.
The drama experiences shown in images 3, 6, 8, and 11 on poster 1 would provide opportunities for the teacher to talk about the feelings and motivations of the roles. The students could be asked to “read” the roles by taking note of stance, techniques, and the theatre contrasts of movement and stillness and sound and silence.